I'm not in the habit of writing user-comments for documentaries, and not in the least musical biographies, but I simply had to make an exception for the life-story of the greatest singer/musician my beautiful nation has ever known. Will Tura (birth name: Arthur Blanckaert) turned 80 years old on 2nd of August 2020, and this was more than enough reason for the two main national TV-channels to dedicate their entire evening programming to specials revolving around him; - and deservedly so. Just a few numbers for those who don't know this Belgian/Flemish legend (since, alas, he never put too much effort in building out an international career): Tura's career spans over 62 years now (and counting). He wrote and composed over 500 songs and sang most of them himself. Generations of Flemish people, like myself, who grew up during the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, have always been used to the fact that Will Tura scored at least one or two #1 hits per year, and evidently, he has been a massive inspiration for ALL Flemish singers that were born in these same decades.
The largest TV-channel had the honor of premiering the long-feature documentary of his life. It's named after one of his biggest hits (translation: "Keep Hope Alive") and it's quite a prestigious project, since it is directed by Dominique Deruddere ("Crazy Love", "Everybody Famous") and narrated by Belgium's best known actor Jan Declair ("Memory of a Killer", "Daens"). The film's a detailed elaboration of Will Tura's life, from his birth and childhood years at the beginning of WWII, up until the late 90s/early 2000s, when the loved ones around him started passing away one by one. The highlights of his musical career are included, but also the times when he was really struggling and facing personal problems. For example, in spite of his tremendous and non-stop success since the early sixties, it took a relatively long time for Tura to score his first great big hit, he lost his producer/mentor straight after his breakthrough and had to keep his relationship (and marriage) secret in order not to disappoint fans. In the late 80s and early 90s, Will Tura got involved in a severe car accident, sang at the funeral of the King of Belgium and lost two of his brothers to illnesses. "Hoop doet Leven" is a fascinating, and often emotionally moving documentary, featuring bits and fragments of approximately three dozen hits and legendary podium appearances. My one point of criticism, perhaps, is that two prominently featuring song are not his. Seeing that Tura wrote/sang so many brilliant own creations, was it really necessary to show extended footage of his covers of "Zij gelooft in mij" and "My Way"?
